Once Upon a Time Blog Hop

Once upon a time there was a younger son of a King named Bailey. His father's kingdom was not a prosperous one, so he was sent off to be a knight in another kingdom. However, there to his dismay a human child was born and Prince Bailey was told he would have to leave and find another Kingdom to serve. He was fortunate to find a very kind group who helped displaced Sheltie Knights find new kingdoms with lots of squirrels needing to be tended. There he was placed in a temporary foster Kingdom with a woman who taught him lots of skills a Sheltie knight would need to be successful in a new kingdom.

Soon Prince Bailey was introduced to a new King and Queen who were in need of a Sheltie knight to take charge of their backyard. He ruled fairly and wisely. He even eventually learned to stop chewing on everything in the house, although paper continued to be a life long temptation. He practiced his herding skills on his toys and made friends every where he went.

The King and Queen noticing he was rather lonely decided it was time to find him a Princess and contacted the person in charge of finding misplaced princes and princesses new homes. They found a beautiful princess they felt would love to come and live in Prince Bailey's kingdom. Now Prince Bailey didn't know quite what to make of this talk of a Princess. After all the King and Queen had weird ways of telling silly stories to amuse themselves. For instance, they would joke about a trip to the groomers as a trip to the spa, implying some kind of luxury retreat. The groomers were no luxury outing. Just what did they mean by him getting a Princess to share his realm with and did he really want to share?

The day arrived and the King and Queen loaded up the carriage to go to the Kingdom of CT to make a royal visit. Bailey loved royal visits so he was quite excited until he arrived at his destination. This couldn't be, for this was the place where he had been abandoned by his first King and Queen. It couldn't be happening again. All was well in his kingdom. He was sure his King and Queen loved him and were pleased with him.

The King and Queen were puzzled. They had been certain he'd wanted a friend to come and live at the house. This reaction seemed odd. Then they realized while they had never been to this location before, Bailey had for this was the arrival spot for all Sheltie's displaced from their Kingdoms. Their beloved Prince did not realize he was not staying, but bringing home another to his realm. No reassurances would comfort him. He spent the entire visit scared. Even the site of his beautiful Princess Katy was not enough to relax him. Sure she was a beauty, but not worth losing his kingdom over.

Then something surprising happened, the King and Queen rose to leave and motioned for Bailey to follow them. He wasn't being abandoned after all. Wonders of wonders, the beautiful Princess Katy seemed to be following as well. With some encouragement from the King she hopped into the car and snuggled right in beside him. His princess was coming with him!!!

We can certainly say they lived happily ever after.

Join the hop here.

Spa Day

Saturday was spa day. Mom likes to make a big deal of spa day and Dad keeps telling her it is nothing like the stories she tells. No long gossip sessions under the hair dryers, no warm towels, etc. That was until she told him about the oatmeal baths and then to his amazement when Katy had dry skin, they suggested an oatmeal bath and Dad nearly burst out laughing. Score one for Mom. Since then we have been getting oatmeal baths and man does our skin notice it.

The dryer thing, well Dad just wasn't buying that. Then Saturday he called to find out if we were ready only to find out, yep, Katy was in a drying crate. Dad didn't find out if she was gossiping with the "girls" and she'll never tell. However, he's stopped mocking Mom's stories.

Dad figured he'd better grab a shot while Katy's bow was still in her hair. She loves her spa days, but once home, the beauty effects don't last long. Hair ribbons gone and mud appears.

Our Stories are Back: The Big Over Easy

Mama has brought back our morning story hour. Over Christmas, she heard about a mystery series based on nursery characters for adults written by Jasper Fforde. We are listening to the first one The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime a Jack Spratt detective story that covers the murder of Humpty Dumpty.

Mama has a thing about the Humpty murder case. She used to make her students try to decide who murdered Humpty as part of a class exercise on traditional literature, so she is enjoying this story.

She is finding it funny how they are mixing Grimm's, nursery rhymes, and mythology all in one book.

Katy has been disappointed that there is little romance in the novel. Bailey was looking for more action. However, Mama loves the combination of mystery and fairytale characters. We will update more when we finish listening to the story.

The Snowmen Invasion

Frankie has been blogging about the snowmen invasion at his house and we wanted him to know he is not alone.

We have not seen snow since Halloween, but that has not stopped Mama from bringing the snow creatures indoors and decorating the house with them. We even have snowmen toys. Grandma bought us more for Christmas last year. Mama finds this all very amusing.

We do find snowmen tug-o-war to be a good work out and we are glad Mom found our Christmas toys. It seems to amuse Mom. You can tell from all those spy camera shots she keeps snapping with that phone of hers.

We are missing our holiday snow cookies with the lack of snow this holiday season. Mama promises us there will be plenty of snow cookies all winter to make up for the ones we missed at Christmas.

Our second Christmas wreath continues to fill up with cards.
We have received cards from:
Chewy Deravi, Bella and Daisy, Bert King, Miley and Maggie, and Dakota & Cody, Frankie Furter, Freedom, Casper & Nikki, Maggie Mae and Max, Sweet William The Scot, Finn, Urban Hounds, Julep & Derby, Remington, Max, Bugsy and Knuckles, Reggie and Lola Baker, and Douglas, Oskar Hoerauf, Brandon, Tessa the Maltese, Erika, Blair, Koda, Sophie, Indy & Jack, Minnie and Mack, Harley, Gibson, Wolf, Chloe & Bandit.

Fleece Coats

By now most of you know of our obsession with fleece blankets. Mom loves to talk about it to everyone. However, as the temperatures in the house dropped to the low 50's the blankets were not helping. After all, it is hard to walk around, jump on things, and patrol with a blanket strapped around you. A Sheltie has work to do and cannot be tied down with a blanket, no matter how cold it may be inside the house.

When Mom and Dad got the word it would be Thursday before power was restored, they went to the camping store to get supplies. While they were out they stopped at Petco and Bailey got the Blue Fleece Coat and I of course got the Princess Pink One.

Mom was thrilled on two counts. First, the items were on-sale and second we actually wore them and did not try to tear them off when she put them on us. Then again we have not worn them since the heat came back on so we will have to see if they work as well when it is not freezing in the house, it is just cold outdoors.

Thankfully, heat was restored earlier than predicted. However, we now have our emergency coats.

Dad Discovers the Fireplace

When the power went out over the weekend the heat stopped working and it got really cold. Dad and Bailey often visit a friend and have outdoor fires during the summer and fall, but we have never seen one indoors. When it started to get really cold, Dad's friend offered him some firewood to use in the hole in the wall Mom calls a fireplace.

Bailey and I were both a bit nervous. In all the time he's lived here Bailey says Dad has never tried to bring fire indoors. It was a rather scary experience. Fires get angry. They spit, they yell, and they jump around a good deal. The tempting part that was hard to avoid was that it was so warm. Mom moved our bed a safe distance away from the fire and you feel the heat when you sat on the bed.

While we weren't crazy about the fire in the beginning, by the time the power came back on, Katy and I were curled up in front of the fireplace, resting. We are glad Dad conquered fire.

Halloween Sent Us A Trick

Yes, folks this is me, Katy sitting in snow over Halloween weekend. There was no heat in the house and snow on the ground. It was supposed to be a lovely fall day. While I was not looking forward to strangers banging on the door demanding candy, I also was not prepared for freezing in the house when the heat went off on Saturday and did not come back until Monday night. Mom keeps telling Bailey and me we should be quite grateful as the power company was predicting we would be without electricity and thus heat until Thursday. She was doing the happy dance when it came back yesterday. She also says the strangers will not be coming to the door until Thursday either as the City postponed trick or treating.

We have many stories to tell all of you about our adventures in house camping. We hope all of you are safe and warm.

Our Weekly Book Review: A Prince Among Frogs

I was really looking forward to Mom bringing home A Prince among Frogs (Tales of the Frog Princess) for us to listen to together. This Tales of the Frog Princess is not as scary as some of the other series Mom reviews for her education blog. I like the happy romantic stories.

I was disappointed that this story was not as fun as the previous books. I found myself wandering out of the room as the story of Millie and Auden trying to find her missing baby brother was not nearly as interesting as the previous books. While I will miss the stories of Eadric and Emma's family, if the author was no longer able to create the fairytale stories found in the previous stories perhaps it was time to finish the series.

Mom is listening to a rather scary Peter Pan prequel that has my attention at the moment. While I normally don't like scary books, this series has Bailey and I both paying attention.

Grandma Cursed Us

Sure, it was raining yesterday, but there was no thought of the dreaded t & l word. There was not a sign. Then Grandma called and she had to say how scared her dog was because they had several days of those unmentioned words. Before Mom could stop her there was a loud booming noise and the house lit up. Sure enough, Grandma sent us thunder and lightning. What kind of Grandma does that? We barked and barked to scare it away, but it took its sweet time leaving. We want Mom to send snow down south this winter to get even.

Picture Credit: Johnglenn513 Morgue Files

Our Weekly Book Review: The Dragon Kiss

Mom and I finally finished listening to the Dragon Kiss this week.

This book had more adventure that the previous one. Auden the dragon wants to be human so he can marry Millie a human/dragon. I cannot imagine wanting to be anything other than a Sheltie. Humans have no time to play or sleep. They are always traveling around and busy with other things. However, Auden had his reasons.

His relatives force him to complete certain tasks in order to get the right to be able to shape shift from human to dragon. Bailey liked that this book was less mushy and had more action. He hung out with me more to listen to the story while Mom was working. I was pleased that the story had my romantic happy ending. Mom borrowed A Prince among Frogs from the library so I can listen to the final book in the series.

What Happened to Fall?

Mom told us that fall was coming. Katy barely remembers last fall, but I love fall. The weather is cool, the leaves crunch under my feet, and the smells are amazing. However, this past week has felt worse than any we experienced during the hot days of summer. Everything in the house is sweating from something Mom calls humidity.

I demand my fall weather and I want it now!

What a Beautiful Fall Weekend

Mom and Dad spent a great deal of time enjoying the fall weather. It turns out that many people ignored the directions for that fall festival and brought their dogs to the outdoor festival Mom we wrote about a few weeks ago. The dogs left the parade and ignored the rules about going to the festival. Mom and Dad followed the rules and we stayed home. However, Dad made some special time for us when he got home and Bailey made a visit to a special friend later that night.

Sunday Mom and Dad were going to a kid-oriented event that Dad had to make a presentation at and they invited one of our human cousins to come and visit. She came over on Saturday night so she could be ready early on Saturday morning. Katy and I chased the ball, but Katy hesitated to get to close. Not me, I got as much attention as I could. She wanted to make friends, but was not sure. She would come close even poking with nose and foot, but each time she retreated. I of course took full advantage of the situation and got as close as I could. Never one to pass up a tummy rub, I moved in. However, Katy was trying to make a connection. After we went to bed, Katy made several trips downstairs to check on our guest. She would stay for a short time until a noise would send her flying back upstairs to jump up on top of me.

When Mom and Dad arrived home last night, Katy kept checking the door. She normally has this reaction when she knows Mom or Dad has stayed outside talking to a neighbor and has not come in yet. She was distressed that one of her sheep had not returned home. She actually missed our guest. She does not seem to understand the idea of borrowed sheep, yet.

I may have to get used to sharing attention with Katy, as she is getting bolder.

Our Weekly Book Review: The Salamander Spell

While Bailey has shown no interest in the series I was very excited when Mom brought home The Salamander Spell. After the romance and adventure of The Dragon Princess ,I had high expectations. Bailey had no interest in the Tales of the Frog Princess series, although he has gotten hooked on the Grimm's sister adventures Mom has been reviewing for her education blog.

Mom was interested in this story as it provided the family history Emma's Mom, Chartreuse and Aunt Grassina. It explains why Emma's Mom was not the green witch and why Aunt Grassina ended up with the gift of magic. It was not nearly as exciting as Milly's story. Mom has promised to make it up to me and has put Milly's next story Dragon Kiss on reserve at the library. I will admit Bailey is right, the Sister's Grimm are pretty funny.

Wordless Wednesday: Dad's Bad Aim

It is the Small Things

It really is the small stuff with Katy. Like children, it is wrong to compare dogs, but sometimes you cannot help yourself. Things came easier to Bailey. It may have been that he came to us as a puppy from rescue and he had less baggage. He might have a more outgoing personality. I do not know. I do know that Katy has fought hard to believe and each victory is amazing.

People can debate the issues with dogs on furniture, but we have always enjoyed cuddling with the dogs on our beds and couches. That is why the couches all have fleece blankets on them. They wash when company comes and it reduces the hair to clothing ratio for our guests. When Katy came to us, she had challenges with stairs and jumping was not something she would do. We were not sure if it was training or fear.

The stairs were necessary. In order to reach the backyard she had to be able to negotiate the back stairs. My husband carried her down the first few times, but that was not a long-term option. With cookies and Bailey's help, we coached her on walking the stairs. Today, the problem is still getting her to walk the stairs. Now, she flies over them. Getting her to touch the stairs is a thing of the past. She flies up and down every set of stairs indoors and out. It is wonderful to see her fearless, but we do have to work on keeping her from breaking her neck with her races with Bailey around the house.

I started a tradition of picking her up and scratching and petting her on the couches for short periods of time to help her understand she was allowed on the furniture if she wanted to be there. She was not interested for a very long time. Last night I walked into the room my husband and his friend were watching the game and I saw Katy jump up on the couch and curl up with my husband. I struggled not to say anything. For some reason when you notice what she has done, even in a positive way, Katy leaves. My husband told me later that she has started to come out at night and watch sports with him on the couch. It does not sound like a big issue. However, if you understood how far she has come not just jumping up on her own, but to initiate contact it is huge.

Katy may always be shy. Several people have remarked that may be her personality. I am fine with that. My hope has always been that she would choose to do things based on personality, not on fear or bad past experiences. She may never be comfortable with strangers. However, she has won so many of the battles with challenges since she arrived with that I leave it to her to decide.

Monday Night Football

The season has begun. We had our first college and professional football bonding with Dad this weekend. However, tonight is a special night. Dad's best friend is coming over to watch the Patriots open the Monday night football season. Dad is getting Pizza and this friend ALWAYS has dog biscuits in his pockets. What more could a Sheltie want?

Football Season Begins

We are so ready for football season. We watched the first game with Dad last night. We heard one of our favorite people is coming to watch the opening Patriot's game with Dad. You may not realize it, but we are big fans. Mom's Aunt made Bailey his own Patriot's fleece blanket with remnants she had left over from making Christmas blankets for family members. Grandma made Dad a knitted blanket with the Patriots logo. Dad keeps the hair controlled on the couch, rotating fleece Patriots and Red Sox blankets. We inherited our sport's obsession from Dad.

Enjoy the football season everyone.

Our Weekly Book Review: The Dragon Princess

Mom is right I like romantic books. I sat through all the Jane Austen books including the horror versions she reviewed and I loved them all. Bailey was off in the other room chewing bones. I have listened to the Tales of the Frog Princess all the way through the marriage of Prince Eadric and Emma. Now Mama has brought home The Dragon Princess which is the tale of Millie their 15-year-old daughter and I am still hooked. Yes, Bailey you can groan all you want, but this is a Sheltie version of a soap opera. You can have your endless sports, but give me a story first of a frog princess and now a dragon and I am hooked.

Yes, Millie can turn into a dragon and this adventure is about her learning to control her powers and have the choice over when she wants to be a dragon and when she wants to be human. Of course throw that in with her problem with finding a prince who can deal with a dragon princess and I have my romantic fix. After all as a Sheltie princess, I love reading about how others deal with the challenges the title brings.

Bailey is concerned because he now has to be afraid of snowmen. First, it is veggies and now dangerous snowmen. Who would have thought snowmen could be dangerous? After all sit on them for a bit and they melt.

I can't wait until Mama brings home the next book The Salamander Spell from the library.

Wordless Wednesday: Enjoying the Last Days of Summer

The Appliance Vet is Coming

Dad says the appliances are getting a checkup today with something to do with their warranty. The dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer are seeing the appliance vet who comes to the house. I guess it would be hard for the appliances to get in Dad’s car and go to the appliance vet.
Bailey wants to know if they get shots. Every time we go there always seems to be shots involved. Mom talks about the temperature in the washing machine, so we are curious to know if the Vet will be checking on it when he/she is here.

Have any of you had experience with appliance vets? We have had plumbers and electricians here. We had no idea there were vets for appliances or that they got checkups. The plumbing has had inspections and repairs, but it has never had a checkup. Maybe that is why our favorite plumber visits instead of a plumbing vet.